Dark Matter

(Maybe a Fudge Factor?)

Conventional theories worry whether our universe is open or closed, and bounded or unbounded. The key to answer this question centers on the debate about the amount of undetected dark matter. Dark matter is the presently undetected, "hidden" matter which would be required to produce the red shifts, interpreted as the gravitational accelerations present in the universe today. Most theories predict that the amount of known matter, detectable and available in the universe, is only about 1/10 to 1/100 of the amount needed to close the universe. (That is, to achieve the density able to close-up the universe by maintaining the gravitational curvature [escape velocity equalling "c" the speed of light] at the outer boundary.)

For the universe to be closed, most present theories must agonize over the expected abundance or lack of dark matter (i.e., in less scientific terms, dark matter provides the legendary, theoretical, variable fudge factor). This dark matter is matter which is too cold, thus, not energetic enough to be detectable on it's own.

Using the C-R theory, we would have little trouble speculating that the universe gives the impression that it is completely closed. We should have little trouble in showing there exists at least a 90% time slowdown ratio (red-shift) by measuring the spectral lines from observable objects located near the outer edges of the universe. Extending this measurement slightly farther, it would not take a wild imagination to suppose that the universe possesses enough mass to achieve the additional and final 10% time slowdown (red shift). Indeed, the C-R theory only needs to add 10% or less of an additional slowdown (red shift) and then the universe becomes totally closed. If this were the case, then there is no coincidence that the universe appears to be tottering on the edge between exactly closed or slightly open.

The C-R theory would also have no foreseeable trouble in allowing at least some of the extra "dark matter" required to accomplish this universe-closing, to exist in one or many Black-Holes. This dark matter could also take a variety of sources. While not required by the C-R theory, we could accommodate massive amounts of near massless neutrinos, magnetic monopoles, interstellar dust, or even the totally hypothetical tachyons. Any of these suggested options could be called upon to provide the seemingly-ubiquitous and ever-handy fudge factor.

One of the more interesting C-R inspired possibilities is that the universe is considerably smaller than present theories calculate. This could follow from the interpretation that the outer regions of the universe may not necessarily have to be racing away from us at 90% or more of the speed of light. The redshifting effect may be caused entirely, or even partially by the gravitational time slowdown of events at the outer edges of the universe. Of course, since the events occurring there would be time-slowed down, the brightness per time and distance figures used as THE reference standard for comparison purposes would also be totally unreliable. Since the age of, and distance to these objects would also be thrown for a loop, the carefully calculated timetable, listing events from the beginning of creation could need considerable revision.

The expansion of the universe, as derived from the Hubble constant, would no longer be a valid unit of measurement. Neither could the Hubble constant be relied upon as the only valid principle upon which to base multiple assumptions.

Regrettably, the C-R theory cannot just come out and say: "AHA, here is the dark matter everyone has been looking for, just under this constellation or near this galaxy". What the C-R theory can claim, based on general observations and simple principles: It is not too farfetched to suspect that the universe has exactly enough matter at the right density to totally close the universe. In other words, we are existing inside one exactly critical (C-R theory, only, type-of) Active Zone, inside of a Black-Hole. That this discovery or speculation should not be overly remarkable or surprising, is perhaps one of the C-R theory's greatest contributions.

In one sense, if we wish to know: is the universe closed; it is irrelevant to need to know how old the universe is, how dense it is, how far away the outer edges are, how long the universe and it's matter have been here in it's present condition, or where it is ultimately headed. The universe has exactly the right amount of matter to close the universe because we are existing inside a typical, C-R theory obeying, Active Zone inside a Black-Hole1. By the C-R theory, being exactly critical is the only condition which defines an Active Zone. Therefore the existence of exactly the right mix of regular and dark matter to, in sum, close-up the universe is not, in any way, particularly co-incidental.

With whatever system of measurements we use, and however we gage both our distances and our eons of time, the universe will always have the approximate appearance of containing precisely enough matter to warp it shut. By the C-R theory, the universe appears that way because that is the case.